Journal-box.



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WERNER NEUHS, 0F CLEVELAND, OHIO.

JOURNAL-BOX.

Application filed August 9, 1809.

To all whom it may cmwern;

Be it known that I, WERNER NnUHs, citi- Zen of the United States,residing at Oleve land, in the county of Ouyahoga and State of Ohio,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Journal- Boxes forOars, of which the following is a specifica tion.

My invention relates to journal boxes for cars, and the inventionconsists in a construction of box which is adapted to pre vent easyremoval of the brass bearing and thereby prevent the bearing from beingstolen, all substantially as shown and described and particularlypointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a sectional elevation of ajournal box embodying my invention with an axle therein, and Fig. 2 is across section of said box and axle on line mm, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is asectional elevation of the pin for fastening the parts.

The idea herein is to prevent thieves from stealing the brass bearingsfrom journal boxes in cars which use such bearings and stand exposed inopen yards easy of access, and thus protect railroad companies fromconstant loss and annoyance on this account. Heretofore such bearingshave usually been put in place within the boxing in such manner thatthey were held without any precautionary means for preventing their easyremoval.

My invention contemplates fastening the bearings in the boxes in suchmanner that they cannot be abstracted or taken out without special toolsor appliances for that purpose and then not in a manner that will beprofitable to thieves. Very generally, the class of persons who stealbrasses of this kind are tramps or unskilled and inexpe rienced men whoare not provided with implements adapted to tamper with the fasteningmeans I provide, and hence while the precaution may not be an exclusiveone, it still serves to afford very general and satisfactory protection.

Referring to the drawings A is a car axle, B a bearing block, and O aboxor casing carrying said bearing. Other parts are associated with these,such as a collar D about the axle outside box O, a flat plate E nextabove or over upper bearing or bearing member B, and, in this instance,a lower brass bearing or bearing member B with a Specification ofLetters Patent.

Patented May 242, 1910.

Serial No. 511,899.

plate F beneath or between the same and the bottom of box O. Usually,however, the lower bearing B is omitted and only the upper bearing B isemployed. But whe her the lower bearing be used or not, it has beenpossible heretofore, as these parts have been constructed, to jack upthe body of the car so that the axle will drop down and make it easy todraw out the, upper bearing. Now, I provide against this easyobstruction of said bearing by boring a hole 6 into or through key plateE and drop a plug or bolt G therein through a registering hole in thetop of box C. The body of said plug is made of brass or like metal thatwill not respond to a magnet, and carries a hard iron or equivalent core9 its full length, practically.

This construction and arrangement serves at least two purposes, as itenables me to draw the plug out with a suitably strong magnet andprevents sawing or cutting off of the plug by a chisel inserted from theoutside over plate E in order to remove the bearing B. Otherwise itwould be possible to drop the shaft and bearing down far enough tointroduce a chisel from the outside between the parts and sever the plugor bolt and then remove the hearing, but a hard core in the plugprevents this from being done and also affords a response to a suitablemagnet to withdraw the plug from above when desired. It will be observedalso that the bore L for the plug does not extend clear through thebottom of plate E, though it may, and this prevents the intro duction ofan instrument from beneath to remove the plug by lifting it out of itscav ity. Obviously the bearing B cannot be re moved without removing thekey plate E. In this way I make the bearing safe as against all personswho may be equipped with ordinary tools to remove the same, and thisincludes all cases of common or un skilled thieving. Finally a bushingor sleeve H of brass is set into the bore in casing O to promote removalof plug G by a magnet, the said sleeve preventing the force of themagnet from being expended upon the iron casing, and over said bore orhole I place a cap or cover L.

The head of plug or bolt G is dropped down beneath the top surface ofthe box or casing O at least far enough to prevent the head from beingengaged by a tool from without to lift the plug out of its seat, and toreach the same with a magnet requires that the magnet be constructed tobe inserted into said bore, thus imposing comparatively hard conditionsprecedent to removing said bolt and without which the brass bearing Bcannot be extracted. It will further be observed that the axle has abead or rim or flange a about its outer end and outside bearing B andoverlapping the same the full depth of said bead or rim and thusassisting in confining said bearing. The cap L over the bore for plug orbolt Gr has a recessed edge adapting a portion thereof to drop down intothe bore while a screw 2 is engaged through an extension 3 on the cap inbox C and fastens the cap irremovably neath the surface of said block,and an insulating bushing in the block about the top of said plug.

2. A journal box and a bearing therein and a key plate next over saidbearing and said box and plate provided with a bore from the top, incombination with a plug having a conducting core inserted in said borefrom above and having its top dropped beneath the top of said bore,thereby preventing exposure of the plug for removal.

3. In journal boxes for cars, a box and a bearing therein and a keyplate between said parts in combination with a car axle having anenlargement about its end confining said bearing, said box and plateprovided with a bore from the top, a plug inserted in said bore andadapted to lock said parts together, said plug having a non-conductingbody and a conducting core and shorter than the bore in which it isplaced, thus preventing easy removal.

In testimony whereof I a-fiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WERNER NEUHS.

Witnesses:

E. M. FISHER, F. G. MUssUN.

